Politics

Arab Globalisation Critics on the G8

"It Is Imperative to Have a New Economic Order!"

How do Arab globalisation critics regard the G8 and relation to the problems of the developing nations? Ahmad Hissou discussed this issue with Nahid Badawiyyah, Syria, Ibrahim Obaha, Morocco, and Lutz Rogler, Germany
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

No Free Trade in Sight

One of the aims of the "Euro-Mediterranean Partnership" launched in 1995, was to establish a regional free trade zone by the year 2010. But the North African partner countries still have a long way to go in that direction. Bernhard Schmid explains the background
Microcredits in Morocco

Formula for Success against Poverty?

Morocco has been a leader in the area of microcredits for many years in the Arab region and in Africa. The Moroccan microcredit system is now also receiving support from Europe. Martina Sabra reports
Public Opinion Poll on US Foreign Policy

Muslims Believe US Seeks to Weaken Islam

More than six years after US President Bush launched his "global war on terror," the Islamic world remains suspicious of the United States' motives. That's according to a survey by the University of Maryland and WorldPublicOpinion.org. Ana Lehmann reports
Afghanistan

A New Strategy for Peace

Does it still make sense and is it still necessary to deploy German troops in Afghanistan? Can it be shown that they are contributing to bringing about peace and stability in the country? Andreas Zumach takes a look at these questions
French Nuclear Weapons Testing

Atomic Contamination in the Desert

France not only conducted nuclear weapon tests in the South Pacific, but also in its former colony of Algeria. Even today, Paris still refuses to acknowledge the judicial protests of the victims. Bernhard Schmid reports
Interview with Ambassador Gunter Mulack

"Europe and Germany Are Taking Substantial Interest in Pakistan"

German-Pakistani relations are complex. In this interview with Atilla Iftikhar, Germany's ambassador in Islamabad, Gunter Mulack, talks about developmental, economic, and political relations of the two countries
Kemalists versus Liberal Intellectuals in Turkey

Promoting the Kemalist Personality Cult and Keeping Rank

Against the backdrop of the recent demonstrations held "in defence of the secular republican order", Günter Seufert profiles the nationalist discourse in Turkey, which condemns everything that is not in line with Kemalist dogma
The Sunni-Shi'i Split in Iraq

Cultural Affiliation through Sectarian Politics

It is not difficult these days to talk pessimistically regarding the future relations between Sunnis and Shi'ites in Iraq. But according to Ahmad al-Sa'adawi, the possibility of a civil war on the basis of sectarianism appears to be less feasible with time
Pakistan's Domestic Crisis

Endgame for Musharraf

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf discovered the limits to his powers when he tried to sack the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry, who has since acted as a lightning rod for the anti-Musharraf feelings that have been building up for years. Irfan Husain reports
Jailed Opposition Activists in Syria

Don't Lock 'em up, Listen to What They Have to Say!

Shortly before President Bashar al Assad's re-election, several prominent critics of his regime were given long prison sentences. With this move, argues Kristin Helberg, the regime in Damascus threw away the chance of involving the country's moderate opposition in a long overdue process of political reform
Turkey's Political Crisis

Fanning the Flames of Fear

The mass rallies against the conservative Islamic government, such as the one that recently took place in Izmir, are drawing attention to the widely feared creeping Islamicization of Turkey and the country's current political crisis. By Ömer Erzeren